FTV: BERUBE AT PRACTICE

The Flyers enter tonight’s game on a four-game point streak in the standings, winning their last game, 4-1 vs. NJ, going 2-0-2 in that span… They remain six points behind Washington for the third and final playoff position in the Metropolitan Division… The Flyers play the second of their four-game stint on home ice, where they now own a 7-4-2 record… The Hurricanes are last in the Metropolitan Division and have dropped four straight games, not scoring more than one goal in each of those contests… The Canes began the year with eight straight losses, but have nine of their wins this season in their last 20 games, going 9-10-1 in that span.

The Flyers take on the Hurricanes for the first of five times this season - they are one of two teams that they play five times this year (Columbus)… Last season the Flyers were winless against Carolina, going 0-2-2, with all four meetings being decided by one goal, including two past regulation play - it was the first time the Flyers hadn’t picked up at least one win in a season over the Hurricanes since the team moved to North Carolina from Hartford… However, the Flyers have had dominant play over the Hurricanes, especially on home ice, going 17-3-2-4 (2 ties) in the last 26 home games, since 2000-01… They own a 40-12-5-4 mark in Philadelphia and overall, the Flyers will be looking for their 75th win in 123rd game against the Hurricanes franchise, which also includes the Hartford Whalers.

The Flyers continued their power-play streak with a goal last game - they have now scored on the man-advantage in six straight games, going 6-for-19 (31.6%)… The Hurricanes are the second-least penalized team in the NHL, averaging 7.8 PIMs a game, and have scored the second-least amount of goals per-game in the NHL at 2.14 GPG… Cam Ward has eight of Carolina’s nine wins, while back-up goaltender Anton Khudobin is winless this season (0-6-2)… Against the Hurricanes, Steve Mason is 5-2-1 with a 2.00 GAA, while Ray Emery is 5-0-0 with a 0.73 GAA and two shutouts in five career games… Sean Couturier will be looking to tie his career high scoring streak - he currently has a five-game point streak, posting six points (2g-4a) in that span… Hurricanes forward Jeff Skinner is two points shy of 200 in the NHL, all with Carolina.

The captain’s game is heating up - Giroux has a four-game point streak in which he has posted a goal and four assists, including a two-point night in his last game, a 4-1 win over NJ… Giroux has not gone two straight games without a point all season long, finding the scoresheet in 21 of 28 games… He is second on the team in points and sixth overall in the NHL in scoring race with 32 points, while ranking third overall in the NHL with 24 assists… He is tied for the NHL lead in power-play points (15) and continues to lead all NHL forwards in average ice-time per-game (21:49)… Against Carolina, Giroux averages a point-per-game with 19 points in 19 games, including four points (1g-3a), in the four-game series last year.

Faulk is one of four defensemen in the NHL to lead his team outright in scoring so far this season (ARI: Yandle, CGY: Giordano, OTT: Karlsson) - he has five goals and 12 assists for 17 points, and has three goals and five points in his last seven games, including a two-game goal-scoring streak heading into today’s game… He also leads the Hurricanes in time-on-ice, averaging nearly 24 minutes per-game (23:59), including 15 games of over 24 minutes… Against the Flyers, Faulk has five points (1g-4a) in nine career games, including three assists in four games last year.